UK Bishops Remind Catholics to Share Faith with Non-Believers

The Bishops of England and Wales are reminding Catholics to share their faith with non-believers ahead of the “Thy Kingdom Come” prayer initiative scheduled for May 13-23. 

“Thy Kingdom Come” is a Christian movement that invites the church to pray for nonbelievers.

Christians from all over the world have participated in the activities of this movement. They follow the example of the disciples when they prayed ‘Come Holy Spirit’ after the very first Ascension Day.

 The disciples were praying to Jesus to give them the power of the Holy Spirit so they could become his witnesses.

The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) have voiced support for the initiative.

In a message on their website, Bishop Mark O’Toole, Chair of the Department for Evangelisation and Discipleship encourages the church to work hard to win souls for Christ.  

“In the weeks leading up to that nine days, have a think about your family, your work colleagues, your friendship circle,” Bishop Mark said.

 “Think about five people whom you might begin to have a conversation with about your faith in Jesus Christ.

“It might be somebody who, during this time of the pandemic, has given up the practice of their faith or somebody who’s searching for deeper meaning because of the experience of disease and death in this past year.

“I think, especially, we want to pray for those five people during the nine days of prayer between Ascension and Pentecost and then in the period afterwards, maybe in July, when things have opened up a little more, look for an opportunity in the parish calendar, maybe a summer barbecue or a tea outside in the parish grounds that you could invite those five individuals to, so that they might begin to make a journey to encounter the Lord Jesus more deeply.”

 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2021-04/england-wales-bishops-supporting-thy-kingdom-come-prayer.html